


For You

by De_Marvel_Bunny



Series: Whumptober 2019 [5]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, BAMF Tony Stark, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Steve Rogers, Self-Sacrificing Tony Stark, Steve Rogers Feels, Team as Family, Tony Angst, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Angst, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs Sleep, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, Whumping Tony Stark, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 14:40:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20909309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/De_Marvel_Bunny/pseuds/De_Marvel_Bunny
Summary: Tony gets kidnapped. The Avengers watch as he gets tortured. Basically.





	For You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kcusllay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcusllay/gifts), [The_Sad_Fangirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Sad_Fangirl/gifts).

> These works are all becoming a bit rushed, so I'm sorry if they're all crap. I have to come up with them and write them within a day and that's exhausting. Also, English is not my mother language so I'm sorry for any and all mistakes there are bound to be in this.
> 
> Trigger warning: violence

It was his own fault, really. He hadn't been paying attention, had refused protection when he'd left, hadn't even informed the Avengers he was going out. For all he knew, they didn't even know he was missing.

But here he was, tied to a wall with heavy chains and spitting out blood as Pierce hovered blurrily in front of his face.

"Where are the Avengers, Stark? You know all of this will end once you tell me, right? I could end your suffering, just tell me what I need to know."

"Go to hell," Tony muttered through the blood in his mouth, steeling himself for another hit. He didn't know how long this had been going on, but he was about ready to give up. He'd long since given up the hope of the Avengers finding him. Hell, he didn't even know if they _cared_. They'd been on rocky grounds since the whole "Civil War" fiasco not too long ago, and Tony hadn't actually seen Ste- _Rogers_ much since Siberia, let alone talk to him. Steve- no, _Rogers_ probably hated his guts. Tony just had to settle for dying here in this stinky old warehouse. It was fine, he was tired, anyway. So tired.

"Tony..." Tony blinked and Pierce was right in front of him, his stinking breath hot on his bruised face. "You know, they say there's a thin line between bravery and stupidity. But I think I know exactly what you are. Gotta say, for a genius, you can be quite stupid sometimes, Stark. All you have to do is give me the Avengers' location. Or even just the Captain, I'm sure that's enough for now. We'll find a way to catch the others. Point is, Stark, what you're doing now is useless. We'll find them, whether you tell us or not. You're irrelevant, Tony. We could just kill you and you would've died for nothing. You're not protecting your precious captain, _Iron Man_," he spat out the name. 

"You're not touching him," Tony growled.

"Oh, but I certainly will. Give us the location, and we might be merciful and give him a quick death," Pierce shrugged nonchalantly. Tony spat in his face.

"I would rather die."

Pierce wiped the blood off his face with a handkerchief, his face betraying no emotion. He turned his attention towards one of the other men in the room.

"Waterboard him."

Tony's blood ran cold. He struggled weakly against the hands pulling him up, his wrists still tied together behind his back as they dragged him over to a large barrel of dark water, and Tony panicked. His heart was beating loudly in his ear, nearly drowning out the voices around him as he tried to resist the hold on his upper arms. But he was weak from exhaustion and blood loss and he couldn't possibly compete with these brutes, and soon his head was dumped into the freezing water.

* * *

The Avengers watched it happen. They watched it _all_ happen. FRIDAY had warned them that Tony had gone missing when she'd lost contact with him that morning. Apparently he'd just wanted some time to himself and some fresh air, and Pierce had struck. FRIDAY had managed to track a weak signal to a camera, which showed them live footage of big men dragging their drugged teammate into a big, empty room, chaining him to a wall and hitting him to wake him up.

They'd heard the threats, seen the beatings, and witnessed their teammate, dare they say_, friend_, lose all hope, surrendering himself to his fate. Once they'd gotten a location, they'd taken one of the quinjets and sped off, watching the feed as they flew towards the location.

_"You're not touching them," _They heard Tony's hoarse voice say and saw Pierce leaning over him on the screen.

_"Oh, but I certainly will. Give us the location and we might be merciful and give him a quick death,"_ he drawled. Steve curled into himself a bit. He knew they were talking about him. He knew Tony was being beaten mainly for _him_. If Tony would just give him the location--

_"I would rather die."_

Steve paled.

He would die... for _him_? After what he'd done, after how he betrayed him, betrayed his trust, Tony would still die for him?

_"Waterboard him_ _."_

They saw Tony panic, struggling against his captors, a look of pure fear on his face. Even Natasha paled a bit, her hand covering her mouth as Tony let out a scream before they pushed him under.

"Clint, can't we go faster?" Steve growled, frustrated.

"Trust me, Cap. I don't like this either. But I'm going as fast as I can," Clint said defeatedly. Steve started pacing, anger and helplessness making him restless. He couldn't just stand around and watch his friend get hurt, especially not because of him. The whole team winced when Tony was pulled back up again by his hair and they heard him gasp and scream, and Steve swore his heart broke right in two when Tony let out a sob he couldn't contain.

_"Please,"_ He begged, his voice hoarse and painful. _"Please, no,"_

But they dunked his head back under anyway, ignoring his cries and pleas. Only when Tony suddenly went limp in their hold did they pull him out, throwing him on the ground. But Tony wasn't moving. His chest was still.

"He's not breathing," Bruce whispered in horror. Thor growled as lightning pierced the sky.

"I will not stand for this," he growled. "Hawkeye, open the door for me. This craft is going too slow for me."

The doors were barely even open and Thor was already out, shooting across the sky faster than they'd ever seen him go. Steve inwardly cursed his own inability to do the same as he watched the men hit Tony in the stomach, hard enough to make him throw up the water he'd gotten stuck in his lungs. He coughed weakly as he was dragged back to the wall and chained back down, his head hanging low in exhaustion. The men didn't even give him time to recover before they pulled out knives and other tools, Tony whining low in his throat.

Steve had to look away from the screen as Tony yelled and cried out, clenching his jaw and shutting his eyes. He felt a small, soft hand on his shoulder. He knew it was Nat before he even looked up. When he did, he looked right into her eyes, seeing the rare emotion in her eyes and on her face and comforted by the fact that he wasn't the only one struggling with the situation. They were all helpless.

"Prepare for touchdown in ten minutes," Clint called from the pilot's seat, a bit too loud as he'd turned down his hearing aids to drown out Tony's screaming. Steve wished he could do the same.

He grabbed his shield, clenching the straps, maybe a bit too tight. Nat readied her widow bites, guns, and knives, her face one of pure determination. They were getting Tony out of there. Bruce seemed a bit green, Thor was conjuring up a storm and Clint put the plane on autopilot to grab his own weapons.

Slowly, too slow for Steve's liking, the aircraft descended, touching down silently and opening its doors. Immediately, the team dispersed, taking care of anyone getting in their way. Steve quickly ran in, knocking guards aside like they were nothing. He needed to get to Tony. He couldn't actually let his friend die for him. Especially when he hadn't told him...

A scream had Steve stop dead in his tracks. He turned around in circles, trying to find a source to the sound. The scream sounded again and he ran off towards it. It was Tony, he knew. His blood ran cold when the blood-curdling scream rang out again. He saw the door at the end of the hallway, not even bothering to slow down as he crashed shield-first into the door, sending it flying off its hinges and hitting the men who stood in front of it. To the others, he showed no mercy. 

Soon the men were either unconscious or dead, and only Pierce was left standing. Steve reveled in the fear he saw in the man's eyes.

"Captain," the man said, trying to talk his way out of the situation, knowing full well it wasn't going to work. "Good to know my time wasn't wasted here. I was hoping Stark would just break, but I guess this is a good enough alternative. I just-"

He didn't get to say more as Steve knocked him aside with a single punch, not even bothering to use his shield. He'd wanted to do that for a while now, and it was good to feel the man's jaw break under his fist.

He didn't bother checking if the man was still alive, choosing instead to rush over to Tony, dropping on his knees in front of him. He was hesitant to touch him as he was covered in so much blood it was hard to see the wounds.

"Tony, hey," he said softly, not even knowing if Tony could hear him. "Tony, it's me, Steve. The team's here, too. We're going to save you, okay?" Tony mumbled something incoherently and Steve's worry grew. "I'm going to free your hands now, is that okay?" He didn't wait for a response as he pulled Tony towards him softly, letting him rest against his chest so he could access his hands. He ripped the chains off, successfully freeing Tony's hands. The smaller man had started leaning into him and Steve couldn't resist the urge to hold him close.

"Steve," Tony said softly, his voice hoarse and barely audible.

"Shh, it's okay. It's me, Tony," Steve soothed, carefully running his hands up and down Tony's back. The engineer looked like he wanted to say more, but Steve shushed him again. "Don't speak, sweetheart. It's okay." He didn't know where the endearment came from but he couldn't find it in him to care. Tony needed him right now and Steve was sick and tired of feeling helpless. So he just held him close, uncaring of the blood and water he was getting on his clothes.

"Steve," Tony croaked again and Steve's heart about had it. Tears filled his eyes as he softly pulled away to look at Tony's bloody face, and he just could help the tears leaking from his eyes.

"Tony, why would you do that? Why would you do that for me?" He asked, bottom lip trembling as he tried to hold in his tears.

"Steve," Tony tried again, struggling to get any words out of his abused throat. "I- I lo...ve you..." he whispered, tears streaming down his dirty cheeks. Steve's gaze softened and he pulled Tony close again. He couldn't help but laugh, sounding a bit manic to his own ears.

"Tony, I- shit. I love you too, you dumbass. I'm so, so sorry for everything I've done to you, I'm sorry I ruined our friendship, but _God,_ Tony. _I_ _love__ you._"

He felt Tony's shoulders shake and he knew the man was crying. Whether it was from relief or pain, Steve didn't know. He just picked him up carefully, Tony's head resting on his shoulder as he carried him out, past the unconscious guards in the hallways and back to his team, who were just finishing up the rest of the bad guys. After Hulk tore down at least half of the building, Natasha went out to calm him down, affectionately running her hands through Tony's hair as she walked past. 

Steve quickly got in the jet, laying Tony down on a medical bed they had prepared for cases like these. There wasn't much they could do now, but it helped ease Steve's mind a bit. When he laid the man down, he couldn't help but hold his hand, not wanting to lose physical contact with him. Tony was blinking at him slowly, his eyelids heavy. He was just staring at him now, not saying anything, but that was fine. Steve would talk for both of them until Bruce got back to help with the worst of the wounds.

Steve sat with him all the way back home, carried him to medical, and only let go once he was wheeled into intensive care and prepped for surgery. After that, he sat with him until he woke up. He helped him through his recovery, giving him everything he needed and more. He messed up when he refused to listen to his friend. He would do anything to make that right, to make up for his mistakes. Because Tony Stark deserved love and Steve was more than willing to give it to him.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just becoming less and less satisfied with my works every day.


End file.
